Answers to critics

Over the years some criticisms of ‘my approach’ have gotten back to me.

Glen’s approach is too ‘heady’, and we are practical farmers

(1) No I am not a farmer, I have not been blessed with inheriting a farm, however I have continually been a gardener since 1976. I have had experience on larger properties, but mostly home gardens, with the last 10 years managing a 1 hectare mixed horticultural property.

(2) Because I do not have a farm to consume me, I have had the freedom to investigate Dr Steiner’s lectures in some depth. I felt early on they must be able to be understood rationally, and exact developments could be made from them. I can now say, I have understood them and have made exact developments, with predictable outcomes.

(3) The BDANZ has not given me many occassions to ‘bring them up to speed’ on my developments, and so on the few occassions I have had to ‘tell my story’ it naturally comes across as more intellectual than practical, even though I have shown some of my experiemental outcomes as examples. The list of my presentations to the BDANZ are ( dates are approximate)1981 – a 1 hour presentation at the commercial members field day at Te Awa Awhi , Waipawa1991 – a 10 minute presentation of how my work is a basic part of BD, which was agreed by way of a vote of the members present. No ‘follow up’ was made by the council. This was at the Christchurch AGM field days2009 – 45 minute presentation at the BOP BDA annual conference. Topic given to me was BD developments around the world, wherein I dedicated 15 minutes to my work and its place in global BD. I also identified the inherent peripheral nature of Anthroposophical Agriculture in relation to the spiritual scientific methodology of the Agriculture and Medical courses, for the first time.2011 – 1 hour presentation at the Hawkes Bay conference, where the subject was set for me, to provide a BD overview upon which all the other presenters subject would sit within. Again 15 minutes on where my work sits.2014 – 3 x 1hr presentations at the Palmerston North AGM conference. I presented an overview of Dr Steiner’s world view as gathered from his Agriculture, and medical lectures, and my work on chemistry. Thus presenting for the first time, the ‘Glenological Rosetta Stone’. Practical examples of its application were presented and discussed. This is a summary of some 60 lectures, and 40 years of research in under 3 hours.

Herein lies the totality of the BDANZ experience of my outcomes.

(4) Given that BD is an agricultural methodology my efforts naturally need to have practical outcomes. My efforts have been focused on how the BD preparations could be more broadly applied than just as compost preps, from which I have created a range of soil, plant, animal and human remedies. Three have been proven effective by NZ hortresearch. Others are accepted for sale by teh NZ ACVM, based upon privately funded research. I have chosen to commercialise only a small number of them, given the commercial and regulatory structure I must function within. I have been selling my products since 1991 and have been supported solely by their sale since 1996. Given my survival is based upon the commercialisation of my own research, I have chosen not to reveal my product formulas, however I have made the worldview upon which they are created available through my website. So if anyone wants to ‘walk a mile in my shoes’ they can create them for themselves. It is apparrant BDAs feel ecnomically threathened by my products.

(5) Dr Steiner’ is a ‘heady’ guy. His worldview is vast and multi faceted, while being communicated in very small individual parts, which requires quite some skill to decipher, organise and see the overall patterm upon which it can function. Luckily I have had the intelligence, time and inclination to ‘walk this path’, so I can present a reasonably sequential story others can follow. Yes it means you ‘earthed farmers’ need to exercise your white matter, but the complexity is Dr Steiner’s, not mine. I am simplifying him. So much so that this then becomes an avenue of criticism.

I am immorally commercialising BD

For many years this criticism was made, until I pointed out that

(1) the whole Association and its membership are commercialising BD. We only need to look to how Mr Proctor commercialised his field days, advisory and then his sale of Cow Pad Pit, for similar ‘freelance’ developments as mine? What are the farmers doing by selling the produce they gathered from their BD farms? Biodynamic agriculture is an economic activity.

(2) The BDANZ social philosophy says that the individual is a member of the community and that both mutually support each other. However what happens when this ‘compact’ is broken, and ‘the community’ does not support all its members equally. What happens when a small clique of members highjack the community resources of the association, and funnel those resources to their own activities? Those ‘left out’ have to develop their own means of support, which includes economic survival. Please reflect upon my time presenting to the BDA community, and that provided to Mr Proctor and various members of council, at the time. I have supported myself and my research efforts since 1980, and made my findings available free of charge, while maintain economically sensitive information that allows me to continue my research. This is a moral act.